


The Light in Her Shadows

by MoonShire



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Possessed Claire Nuñez, Teen Romance, Troll Jim Lake Jr., Trollhunters Season 3 Spoilers (Tales of Arcadia), Witch Claire Nuñez, jlaire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:06:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27755851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonShire/pseuds/MoonShire
Summary: It's been 3 months since the trolls of Trollmarket left on their journey to New Jersey. Jim and Claire are struggling with balancing both the weight of maintaining their relationship, and being the leaders, the Trollhunters.I'm completely guessing with birthdays, time lines, and troll species.I'll update all of you on my Instagram. Follow it for more updates!www.instagram.com/thelightinhershadowsig
Relationships: Barbara Lake/Walter Strickler | Stricklander, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan/Zoe, Jim Lake Jr. & Claire Nuñez, Jim Lake Jr./Claire Nuñez, Steve Palchuk/Aja Tarron
Kudos: 14





	1. Bittersweet Tragedy

**Author's Note:**

> I got into the Tales of Arcadia trilogy back in 2018 and now that I've rewatched Trollhunters and 3below a billion times, I want to start writing toa fanfics.  
> STATES THEY'RE CROSSING THROUGH TO GET TO NEW JERSEY:  
> Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.  
> Enjoy!

The concept of love is....strange.

For Jim, it meant Claire. There's no better way to describe it. As a human, it'd been simple emotions, but lately the feelings have been emotionally impactful. Now that he was a troll, his senses were heightened. Meaning he could see in pitch blackness or hear something a mile away. But ever since the transformation, he felt insecure about his relationship with Claire. Did he disgust her? He couldn’t tell, therefore lies the problem. He tried being distant, but all it did was make him even more helpless. He needed Claire, and this was hurting him to do. 

The pack decided to take refuge for a few days in a cave system between the border of Nevada and Utah. Jim and Claire set up far from the rest of the pack, which definitely didn't help matters.

Blinky and a few others had been the ones to suggest setting up far away from the rest of their pack. He knew it was because Blinky was trying to help him patch things up with Claire, but he couldn't. Not yet at least. The cave was fairly small, but very dark. Vines hung over the opening and strung along the ceiling. They had lit a few candles for light and made their bed — which wasn't much of a bed at all, it was just a big pile of blankets on the hard stone ground — in the far end of the cave.

"Why are you avoiding me?" Claire asked, turning on her side to stare at his back. They were laying on their sides, facing away from each other.

He sighed, shifting his body to stand, "It's complicated. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," She demanded, now moving to stand herself. He growled in response and walked out of their den's opening. "Jim lake Jr!"

Using her magic, she pinned him to the tree in front of her. Jim struggled in the strong embrace and growled in anger, knowing it would scare her. She gasped and eased the tension a bit, only making it so he could move his arms.

Casting her head down she whispered, "Do you even love me anymore?"

"Stop," Jim demanded, reaching an arm out to cup her cheek. A whimper began forming in her throat and she covered her mouth to not let it escape. "Claire, mi amor..."

That was all it took. She shot forward, slamming her body into his so hard that he would've been knocked over if he wasn't restrained. She let out heavy sobs into his chest. "Then why won't you look me in the eye?"

Instead of responding, he just tightened his grip on Claire, not able to admit the truth. He was ashamed for feeling this way.

After a few moments, she let her magic dissipate. Jim was thrown forward into the ground as she turned and started walking away, "I get it, I really do. You don't have to say it, Jim."

"Claire, wait!" He yelled, grabbing her hand and whipping her into his arms. He pulled her face up to his and kissed her gently. She didn't exactly lean into the kiss, but rested her hands against his chest.

Pulling away, he whispered, "I've been avoiding you because I still can’t understand why you would even want to still be with me."

Claire seemed confused for a second, but then it all clicked in her head, "Oh."

Jim let go of her and they sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. "Look, if you-"

"Shut up," She whispered. He obeyed the command, despite not understanding why she commanded it, and shuffled farther back from her. "I didn't mean move away from me, dummy. This is the first time we've talked in days. I...I miss you."

A wave of guilt pierced through him. He hadn't realized how much pain she was going through just because he was an insecure mess. "I'm sorry..." he began, "I should've-"

Claire took a step back and he watched her body tense, fists clenching at her sides, "Yeah, Jim! There's a lot you should have done! And I can't say I blame you, because I can't even imagine what shit you're going through right now! But Jesus Christ, Lake, you're choosing to avoid me, who supports you more than anyone?"

Jim gasped, eyes widening. Half because he's never seen her this angry and half because she confirmed his unspoken question. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. "Claire,"

"Just....come here," She sighed in a watery voice. Walking into their den, she sat on the 'bed', patting the blanket next to her in a 'Sit down' motion. He sighed softly and sat next to her, knowing she was trying to hide something. He knew that look all too well. Bitting her lip she continued, "How could you ever think my feelings would change only because you’re a Troll?"

"Because, Claire, I’m.." He frowned, scooting back a bit. “I’m no longer the Jim you knew, I’m disgusting.” She looked up and gave him a disbelieving look, moving closer towards him.

"Are you kidding?" She laughed, grabbing at both of his hands, "Jim, I've already told you, I love you no matter who or what you are. I meant what I said back then, you're still you inside and that's all that matters. I mean, unless you've changed so much physically that you can’t resist the urge to pick me up and send me flying.”

He snorted and crossed his arms, "Oh, come on, Nuñez. You're no fun."

"Excuse me for liking my ability to walk!" She scoffed.

Without warning, Jim darted towards her and scooped her up under her shoulders with ease, spinning her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and his other under her bottom, reciprocating and wrapping her arms and legs around him, her body shaking against his with laughter. "Do you want to-?" He couldn't finish the sentence and Claire snorted at his bashfulness.

"Smooth, Romeo,” Claire joked, but stopped her laughter and gave a serious tone. "Jim, I want you to be my mate, I want to be your wife, but we’re only 16. We can’t get legally married.”

"I know, don't worry, mi amor. I'd never pressure you into anything. I'll wait as long as I have to for you." She gasped, blushing and he smiled and kissed her nose, letting her down. She looked up at him with loving eyes, seemingly lost in their locked gaze.

"Claire?" Jim asked, and she shook her head.

"Sorry. Want to go to WalMart? I need to get out of here." She grinned, taking his large hand in both of hers. He smiled fondly and nodded.

"Only we would go to WalMart for fun," He laughed softly, noticing that Claire still had that look in her eyes. The scent of her love for him filled the cave, causing him to blush profusely. He gave a lovesick smile to the back of her head and went to grab her pack.

...

Without the glamour mask, Jim had very few ways to hide himself. Besides wearing a beanie and mask, his blue skin was still apparent. Luckily, there was barely anyone even out so late at night anyway, so Jim could go out safely. He wondered how suspicious to see a 6 foot man in a large black hoodie with sunglasses and a mask lurking around at 3a.m., but even if someone suspected anything, they were never confronted.

This WalMart is no different than your normal, everyday, boring supermarket. Although, for Jim and Claire it was like a large playground. Somewhere where they could feel like kids again.

"Do you want anything special?" Claire asked, looking up at him with a toothy grin.

Jim smiled at the child-like look, and pressed a kiss to her forehead, causing her to blush again. "Something for my killer back pain."

"Okay. Anything else?" He shook his head and took her hand, dragging her to the fruit section.

He was pretending to carefully eye every kind of apple, though secretly watching Claire throw her head back, eyes shut tight, "Hey, are you-"

"Yeah," she interrupted, cocking her head to the left to look at him, "You know what? I'm gonna be right back. Meet me in the bread isle."

Jim was barely given enough time to respond before she darted off in the opposite direction. She was walking awkwardly, almost waddling.

Now that he though about it, Claire had been off lately. Granted, he was avoiding her, but she was more off than usual. He couldn't smell a sickness on her and it definitely wasn't her period, because her cycle had ended just two days ago. It worried him. What if she was hiding something going on with her family? Maybe Enrique was hospitalized? Her mother pregnant? No, she would tell him.

....Wouldn't she?

"I'm back," she called, a bag slung around her arm. He could just barely see a small black box showing through.

"What'd you get?" Jim asked, gesturing to hold the bag for her. She quickly tugged her arm behind her and gave him a guilty smile.

"It's nothing!" She reassured, not convincing him.

He shrugged and rolled his eyes, "You're so stubborn, you know that?" She giggled and placed two loaves of bread into the handheld basket.

"Anyways, I got you some muscle relaxers. They should-" Her knees buckled and she fell forward against his chest, taking in shallow breaths. She was exhausted, but why?

"Claire, are you-"

"M'fine," she mumbled weakly, bringing her head back up and placing the medicine in the basket. "I'm just tired is all."

Jim looked at her with worry. What wasn't he smelling? What was going on?! "Claire, you're not okay. Let me carry you."

She blushed for a second before collapsing completely into his arms, a yelp escaping her throat. He could see and feel her losing consciousness, and he ripped his phone out, dialing the woman he would trust the most with her.

"Jim! Jim, honey, I'm so glad you called!" The familiar voice shouted at him.

Claire went completely limp in his arms, her scent fading as if she were miles away. "Mom!" He cried, tears streaming down his cheeks, "It's Claire! She fainted and I don't know why! I'm losing her, mom! I'm losing her!"

"Oh, Jim..."

"I'll send you my location just please have Strickler fly you here....or something....I don't know! I don't care! Just please get here NOW!" He was screaming and growling, completely ignoring the fact that they were in public. Too focused on his unconscious girlfriend in his arms.

"Claire! Come on, baby, wake up!" He cradled her to his chest and was dampening her shirt with his tears, "Don't leave me! I...I love you! I love you so much!"


	2. Loving you is a losing game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays, my loves! I'd just like to clear some things up.  
> In my last chapter I mentioned that Jim was wearing a mask. No, I didn't mean like a Halloween mask, I meant a blue hospital face mask for Covid. I've decided that Covid WILL NOT be around in this fic, but the mask is crucial to hiding his identity. Sorry if that was confusing! Also I'm going to incorporate a quote from a song that will foreshadow the events of the chapter. Just for fun :).  
> Enjoy!

_I'm afraid of all I am,_

_my mind feels like a foreign land._

_Silence ringing inside my head_

_Please carry me, carry me, carry me home._

_..._

_All I know, all I know,_

_Loving you is a losing game._

"Jim."

Jim looked up to see his mother standing over him, now in her scrubs, with a worried expression growing on her. He knew that it couldn't have been good when Claire was sent to the ER with little to almost no wait time. Every single one of his instincts had been kicking in all at once, causing him to go almost feral, surprised to even be able to string sentences together. Luckily, Strickler was right next to him, trying his best to send unspoken reassurances to him.

Despite being weak from flying all the way from California to Nevada and back, Strickler composed himself fairly well. The changeling knew how stressed Jim must've been, seeing his lover almost _dead_ in his arms. He'd seen Barbara in that state once before, but he knew she would be okay with the heartstone's healing magics. Jim on the other hand, had no way to tell if Claire would be okay. Her scent had gone almost completely by the time they'd reached the hospital, so he was obviously in distress.

"What's wrong?" He asked standing to his feet, his posture tight, "What happened? Is she okay? Wha-"

"She'll be okay," Barbara confirmed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. He immediately relaxed, hearing the genuine in his mother's claim, "but, she will have to rest for a few days. We can only assume it was just a blood pressure drop, with all of the stress she's been under lately."

He cocked his head to the side and examined her expression, only to find....guilt? "Mom, why-"

"Jim," she interrupted, smiling softly, "she's okay, I did mean that, but.....it's her condition. Remember when you told me about Claire getting possessed? It was exactly like this when she came to me the first time. Showing symptoms of a cold, but with every test she took, it came back saying that she was in absolute perfect health."

Jim gasped, taking a few steps back and almost tripping over the chair behind him, "Don't tell me she—but she's dead! I mean, Claire killed her!"

Barbara and Strickler both shot a concerned look at each other before Strickler replied, "Young Atlas, not to be negative, but Claire _banished_ her. Morgana is the mistress of shadows, while Claire could only use the shadow staff to her _advantage_. Destroying the staff would only hold her off for a limited amount of time.” Squeezing Jim’s shoulder, he sighed and gave a forced smile in false reassurance. “But, in the sense that it may be true, even in the slightest possibility that she's still alive, we can't risk it. We need to investigate. I'm sorry, but you and Claire may have to come back to Arcadia."

Jim shook his head. "No, I have to stay with the trolls. I'm the Trollhunter, their pack leader, I'm the one who has to stay with them. I can't just drop our mission all together because of a Morgana scare!"

Strickler frowned, standing to his feet and wrapping an arm around Barbara's shoulder. He gave him a nod in agreement and continued, "Well, you said it yourself, you're the Trollhunter. It is your job to protect _all_ of Trollkind. Therefore, you have to deal with this first."

Jim growled, not fully in anger, more in worry. Strickler was right, he knew that, but Jim had a point as well. It would be highly unadvisable to drop the mission altogether just because of the slightest possibility of Morgana still being alive. Adding to his concerns, the Trolls will only last a couple of months without a Heartstone. While Blinky was their elder, Jim and Claire were their protection. Merlin's magic was highly unlikely to sustain protecting everyone. If they left now, not only will they be left unprotected, but who's to say the entire pack will even know where they're going? Blinky hardly knew how to work a phone and Merlin refuses to trust in one either, even refusing when they had bought him one of his own.

"Dr. Lake?" A voice called from the hallway behind Barbara, and she jumped, startled. "Oh! My apologies, didn't mean to scare you. Just letting you know that Ms. Nuñez is awake."

Jim jumped forward, crouching in front of the woman who was frightened by the sudden and unexpected movement. "Can I see her?"

The woman frowned, hugging her clipboard tighter to her chest. "I'm sorry, James. Only the doctors are allowed to be with her at the momen-"

"They can come in." Barbara declared, gesturing her hands to help Jim stand. "It's his girlfriend, and his instincts are all over the place. Unless you want to become troll food, I suggest letting him see her." She was obviously kidding, but the woman tensed.

"She's kidding," Jim reassured, "but in all seriousness, please let me see her."

The woman nodded and directed them down the hall towards Claire's room. Inside, the room looked like a basic hospital room. Walls painted blue, a TV mounted on the wall, lots of beeping machines, nothing too special. Except for Claire, who was hooked up to an IV. "Wait, did she lose fluids?" Jim asked, worriedly.

At the sound of his voice, Claire shifted her gaze from the TV to him, and smiled widely, but Jim gasped in horror at the sight of her changed appearance. Her white streak expanded, now covering her entire bang in white. Her eyes were almost lifeless, one remained brown, and the other was left purple. His heart sank deeper into his chest, remembering the purple color that filled her eyes with the portal ultimately causing the first possession. The nurse looked at him worriedly, "Yes, actually. She was severely dehydrated with her stomach completely empty. When was the last time she ate, James?"

Jim shook his head, thinking. Had it really been that long? He was certain they'd just eaten before they left. Maybe he was imagining things, "I don't remember... but it wasn't that long ago."

The nurse pursed her lips, "What exactly did she eat?"

"Rabbit," Claire answered. She was trembling, he could tell. Walking over and placing a gentle hand on hers, she smiled and he felt her relax a bit.

"My, that's exotic," she laughed. Her expression wasn't quite nervous, but it wasn't neutral either. He couldn't understand it.

"What's wrong?" Jim asked, gripping Claire's hand tighter.

The nurse looked up at Claire, then at Jim, frowning, "Look closely at her eye. It's purple. I may have not known you for long, but I do know this shade of purple is not a natural eye color."

Jim sighed, letting go of Claire's hand to walk over to his mother and Strickler, who were both leaning against the wall closest to the door. "I noticed," he whimpered, crossing his arms, "that can't be good, right?"

The nurse smiled apologetically and began to replace the bag connected to Claire's IV, "I wouldn't say that. She's going to be okay, James. Besides, given what happened at the battle of the bands, I highly suspect _this_ isn't the weirdest thing she's been through."

Everyone chuckled, though he could see that Claire was still feeling sick to her stomach. Normally he would've stayed next to her in comfort, but given the argument they had earlier, he felt downright awful even _platonically_ touching her. "You're right, thank you ma'am."

She nodded in acknowledgement, and Jim returned the gesture, "I should be heading out! Don't want to over stay my welcome. Dr. Lake, please call me if you need my help." She beamed, grabbing her clipboard and walking towards Barbara and Strickler.

Barbara brought her in for a tight hug before pulling away and laughing, "Don't you be doing my job for me! Thank you so much, Nina, I don't know if I would've been able to take care of Claire. I think of her as a second daughter. Seeing her in that amount of pain was terrible."

Claire's face reddened and she turned away, not able to face Barbara. She's always been there for her far more than her mother had—and she even considered Barbara as more of a mother than Ophelia anyways—but it still felt weird to call her boyfriend's mother, mom. Ever since Claire was young, her mother had been in politics, so she was never really around. Her father was the one constantly there for her. Ophelia didn't start coming around more often until Claire was older, and Enrique was born. Jim knew how much it hurt Claire to know her mother only thought of her as a babysitter, but Barbara made sure to let Claire know that she'd always have her. It was sweet, his two favorite girls in the world, sharing almost as close a bond as he had with both of them.

"I understand, Dr. Lake. My offer still stands, please ring me if you need anything." The nurse smiled and walked out, leaving them alone together. Jim glanced over to Claire, who was scrolling through the channels on the TV. She looked sickly, nothing like how she did normally. Her already fairly pale skin was now ghostly white, and her lips a pale pink. He bit his lip in worry, recalling the events of the first encounter they'd had with Morgana. He would never let her go through that again. Not alone at least.

She fixated her gaze on him, her brow furrowing, "What? Is something wrong?"

Jim rolled his eyes, "Wrong is an understatement and you know it. Claire, your eye is _purple_."

She shook her head and scooted to make room on the hospital bed for him, "Come here."

As he was about to walk towards her, he felt his mother's soft touch on his shoulder. "Jim, Claire's going home as soon as she finishes off this bag and I get her paperwork finished. Home as in _her_ home. Not with the Trolls, with Ophelia and Javier."

Jim growled, getting the sudden urge to break the hand touching his shoulder. _Human. That's your mother. Your delicate, human mother._ Recollecting himself, he sighed in defeat and nodded. "I understa-"

"No." Claire interrupted, her purple eye slowly fading to black. Jim cringed back at the action, the others clearly disturbed as well. "I'm staying with Jim. That's final."

"Claire-"

"No." She repeated firmly. Her brown eye was now fading to a tinted purple shade, objects in the room beginning to shake, some even hovering.

Barbara moved forward slightly, and Claire snapped her head in her direction. Too scared to move closer, she whispered, "Claire, honey, your mother wants you home. You should-"

"Mom, look out!" Jim shouted, leaping forward and pushing his mother out of the way of the incoming object flying at her. With this, Claire gasped and everything stopped shaking, her eyes clearing and returning back to her new normal.

"Oh my gosh," Claire gasped, holding her hands tightly to her chest as if shielding them away, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

" _What in Deya's name is going on in here_?!" A voice shouted.

"Merlin?" They all groaned, to which the old man merely shrugged. Merlin had gotten to used to them dreading his presence, he payed little to no attention to their responses.

"Don't act so surprised, obviously I care about Lady Claire. When we heard, about....I came as quick as I could." Everyone rolled their eyes, not fooled by the true reason he was there. It was painfully obvious he couldn't give a slorr's nuckle about any of them. Only concerned about Claire's Morgana scare.

"Wait...how did you even get here?" Claire asked, and Jim began moving towards Claire to instinctively shield her from him, despite knowing the old wizard was no threat. He was a nuisance at most, but he would never hurt any of them. Well... physically, that is.

Rolling his eyes at Jim's movement, he crossed his arms, "Well, boy, I never had the 'gift' for shadowmancy like the Fair Claire, but I do know how to use basic teleportation spells. Though, they only work when I have an emotional anchor, or when it's to a place I've been to before."

"Merlin, why would you leave the trolls?" Jim asked, anxiously gripping the railing of the hospital bed, careful not to break it. "They're left unguarded!"

Merlin waved a dismissive hand towards him, shaking his head, "I am old, not out of my mind, lad. I placed a protection circle around the cave they're settled in, trust me, they're completely safe."

Jim shared an uneasy look with Strickler, then directed his attention at Claire once again. She'd remained fairly calm, but he could both hear and see her heart rate start to increase. Walking over next to her, he bent down and laid a gentle kiss to her forehead and whispered in a voice he knew only she could hear, "I don't like this."

"You think I do?" She responded in a just as quiet voice, "But, we should trust him. Just because he hasn't been the best person, doesn't mean he would willingly put innocent people in danger."

He nodded and pulled away, sitting on the chair next to her. Barbara glanced over at Jim with the same amount of uneasiness he was feeling, and looked back at Merlin, smiling gently, "Well, I have to go fill out Claire's paperwork so that she gets released. Walt, Merlin, you staying here?"

"Actually, Merlin, I've been meaning to ask you about something. Do you mind?" Strickler asked, moving towards Barbara and placing a kiss to her cheek. 

Merlin made a disgusted noise at his action, but quickly buried it with his usual frown after hearing Jim's protective growl. "Sure, but make it quick, impure. I don't have all night."

Jim noticed Strickler tense at the slur, clearly trying to bite back a defensive growl. "Impure? Really?"

Merlin shrugged and rolled his eyes before walking out the door. The wizard rarely even showed his emotions, so they were all used to his bitter attitude. 

"If he ever calls me that again, by Deya I swear I'll go full rule 3 on his-"

"Easy, Tiger. If he ever tries to harm you, I'm here." Jim reassured, giving a light chuckle. To that, Strickler smiled and nodded in thanks, then walked out.

“Come here, please,” Claire begged helplessly. Biting back the pitiful growl in his throat, he laid next to her, careful to leave a bit of distance.

"I'll....I'll try to come to an agreement with your parents, Claire." Barbara soothed, removing her IV. Claire winced in pain, and she shot an apologetic smile, "I know you feel more comfortable with Jim, I'm sorry. I don't know if your parents will agree, but I'll try my best to convince them."

Jim barely heard the door close before Claire tried to fling herself out of bed, also trying to drag him along with her.

He turned his body just enough to bring his hands around her waist, nails digging into her lower back. He knew it wouldn't draw blood, but he still cringed back in guilt. She grunted in frustration, desperately trying to pry his hands away. It wasn't until he scented other people approaching Claire’s room that he shook his head and pinned her by her wrists against the bed underneath him. Mumbling a soft apology when she squeaked in surprise, he whispered in her ear, "Claire... mi amor, please... there's people coming."

Claire stopped her struggling, going limp beneath him. She pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, knowing he'd melt at the soft movement. He sighed, releasing his grip on her and pulling her into his lap while keeping her against his chest tightly. It wasn't tight enough to hurt her, but it definitely kept her in place. She huffed an annoyed breath, "I don't care, let's go, if we hurry we can-"

"Claire-"

"I don't care."

" _Claire_ ," Jim growled, "you're doing well enough that you no longer need constant medical attention, they're going to release you soon, okay? Just...just wait a little longer, please."

He emphasized 'please' to try and guilt-trip her. With the direct opposite effect, she ground her teeth together in a weak imitation of his snarl. He would’ve laughed if he weren’t so angry. "Jim, you do know that as soon as I'm released I'm going with my parents, right? We both know how my mother is, you're not going to see me for awhile. _Let's just go."_

__

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" Jim sighed, rolling his eyes and tilting his head back to face away from her, "Everything turns into a fight with you, huh, Nuñez?"

__

She rolled her eyes and crawled away to lay back on the bed in defeat. Rolling over to where her back was to him, she huffed, "You really want to play that game? Alright, who ignored who for days?"

__

"Jesus Christ, will you ever let that go?!" Jim groaned, holding his head in his hands, "I told you why, you said you understood, so why are you still so upset? What's the point in holding a grudge?!"

__

"My God, Jim, you act like I'm some innocent child you have to protect from all the bad things in the world!" She yelled back, turning around and sitting up. A harsh vibration rang through Jim's ears as objects were beginning to shake again, "I've literally seen it end! And, I’m sixteen, no longer a child, _and_ your girlfriend. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we promise no secrets?!"

__

Jim stood, still not able to meet her gaze. He gripped at his horns anxiously, "I didn't want to upset you! Nothings been the same since..." he brought his hand to his mouth, the scent of tears becoming strong. Surprisingly... not just his. Suddenly, the vibration stopped. He turned around to finally look at Claire, tears streaming down her cheeks.

__

"Since you've become a troll?" Jim nodded, finally letting everything go, sobbing heavy sobs. It'd been a little over 3 months since his transformation, and he's gotten fairly used to it, but he did miss his human self. Going to school, his days in the sun, being near other people. Of course everyone loved him the same because he is Jim inside, but he knew he wasn't the same Jim they knew before. He wasn't fully human anymore, and the fact that everyone treated him the same felt...off. Claire sighed and turned on her back, closing her eyes, "Well...you're right, to a certain extent. Things haven't been the same. We're going to New Jersey and everyone is living their normal lives back home. They're all acting as if nothing happened, though, so much has happened. Jim, I love you the same as I did when you were human, nothing can change that, and it hurts so much to think that you don't believe me when I tell you this. I know you probably have so many doubts about the things I tell you, but I promise you, mi amor, they're all true. I love you. I love everything about you." Claire cocked her head to the side, noticing the dark blue tint creeping up on his expression, "Are you blushing?"

__

He cupped his face in his hands and groaned in exaggerated embarrassment, and she giggled in childish amusement. For once, Claire Maria Nuñez, defeator of Morgana, destined mate and wife of the Trollhunter, felt like a kid again, even if it was for a brief second. Despite what she said earlier, there was nothing she wanted more than to go back to before all of this. When the Trollhunting missions were simpler, her biggest worry being how they were going to catch some rogue gnome.

__

Well, maybe someday, when time machines get invented. Or when powerful sorceresses learn how to control time magic.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whatdidshesayyy? 👀  
> Come on, did you REALLY think I wouldn’t end this with a cliffhanger? Who do you think I am? A good person?  
> Also, as you can probably tell, I love Jlaire angst :D

**Author's Note:**

> I loooved seeing comments about how I tortured you all with the cliffhangers I left in my old Chat Blanc fanfic on my Wattpad. So here’s Bug coming back in with more angsty cliffhangers. Mwahaha >:D!!!


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